Food Security of the Hill Tracts of Chittagong in Bangladesh

This paper presents the status of food security of the Hill Tracts of Chittagong in Bangladesh and the factors affecting household food security. Data were collected from primary and secondary sources and a multi-stage sampling was designed for selecting the farm households. A quantitative method is used for computation of food security at upazila (sub-district) level. Multiple logit regression models are fitted to the data on food security of the farmers to identify the factors affecting food security at household level. Overall status of food security at upazila level is good for all the upazilas except Rangamati Sadar. Logit analysis shows that household food security is significantly affected by farm size, types of inhabitants, professions and crops cultivated. Logit analysis also shows that transition from jhum to horticulture is significantly influenced by farm size, education and distance to market. It is concluded that transition from jhum to horticulture enhances food security.